Jacksonville-based Crowley Maritime Corp. christened the second of four new, Jones Act product tankers on February 4 at the South Florida Petroleum Terminal (The Public Dock) in Fort Lauderdale.
The 50,000 dead-weight-ton (dwt), 330,000-barrel-capacity Texas joins sister ship Ohio , which was christened by Crowley in November, as the first ever tankers to receive the American Bureau of Shipping’s (ABS) LNG-Ready Level 1 approval, meaning Crowley has the option to convert the tanker to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for propulsion in the future.
Once delivered the ship will be chartered out to SeaRiver Maritime, the vessel’s charterer.
“Not only will this be a high -performance vessel capable of meeting or exceeding our customers’ petroleum transportation needs within the U.S.-Coastwise trade, it will do so in a way that is more environmentally friendly than those that have come before her,” said Rob Grune, senior vice president and general manager, petroleum services .
Texas was constructed by PSINC (formerly known as Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc.), with construction management services provided by Crowley’s Seattle-based, naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary Jensen Maritime. Two additional product tankers are being built by PSINC for Crowley and have planned deliveries later this year.
The new tankers are based on a Hyundai Mipo Dockyards (HMD) design which incorporates numerous fuel efficiency features, flexible cargo capability, and the latest regulatory requirements. Texas is 600 feet long and is capable of carrying crude oil or refined petroleum products.